We want cleaner energy but not if it’s pricey

The gap between the public’s enthusiasm for renewable energy and its doubts about what is causing global warming has many scientists scratching their heads.

On the one hand, a large majority of Australians consistently support the adoption of more renewable energy, many polls show. Surveys commissioned by various groups in recent years reveal that about 70 to 80 per cent of consumers want greater amounts of clean energy to contribute to electricity production.

But other studies show that many Australians do not want to pay extra for their power if clean technologies will add to the cost.

Yet the number of residential consumers paying a premium for their electricity provider to source renewable generation increased tenfold from 91,600 in March 2004 to March 2009, according to figures from GreenPower, a government agency that provides accreditation for clean energy. Since reaching a saturation of 945,500 customers, numbers began to slide in April 2009 and at the end of June this year they totalled just 737,000.

This can be partly explained by the recent sharp uptake of rooftop solar panels to the extent that 9 per cent of households have installed them to date and some of those consumers may no longer feel a need to buy green power.

Additionally, the steep increase in electricity charges lately coupled with Australians’ growing thriftiness against the backdrop of global economic uncertainty may have persuaded some customers to revert to cheaper standard power.

Understanding consumer attitudes to renewable energy is blurred even further by studies showing that while most Australians believe the climate is changing, fewer than half attribute it to carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels.

The CSIRO 2011 “Australian Attitudes to Climate Change” report quizzed 5000 people and found that 77 per cent believed global warming was happening, but less than 43 per cent blamed it on human activity.

Early this year, renewable energy generator Pacific Hydro released a report commissioned from independent researchers Qdos that showed 83 per cent of people polled in a telephone survey supported the development of wind farms.

A similar survey for the Clean Energy Council, also by Qdos, found a few months later a more modest 77 per cent of respondents supported wind farms and 8 per cent were ambivalent about them.

The 2012 “Global Consumer Wind Study” from Danish wind turbine maker Vestas went further and surveyed people’s attitudes to solar as well as wind energy.

About 1000 Australians took part in the comprehensive Vestas survey, whose findings were based on answers to 80 questions.

Vestas reported that 80 per cent believed renewables were a good solution to mitigate climate change; 74 per cent preferred renewable energy as a power source; and 56.3 per cent wanted a decrease in the use of fossil fuels over the next five years, compared with 6.7 per cent who voted for an increase.

The survey also asked to what extent was it a good or bad idea for governments to subsidise solar and wind energy development as opposed to imposing a carbon tax on emitters.

Just over 53 per cent answered it was “definitely good” to subsidise solar, compared to 4.7 per cent who were opposed. Nearly 45 per cent were in strong favour of subsidies to wind, compared to 6 per cent who thought it was a bad idea.

While the questions gave respondents plenty of elasticity in framing their answers by asking them to grade their views in a range of one to six, some responses at the extremes were very definitive and sometimes seemingly contradictory.

For example, the survey found 44 per cent would pay more for consumables produced using renewable energy, but in answer to a different question, the same percentage would not pay more for their own electricity to come from clean generation.

It is this discrepancy that is well illustrated in the June 2012 CSIRO report,”The Australian Public’s Preference for Energy Sources”. Based on a nationwide survey of 1907 people, respondents were polled twice to compare attitudes before and after they were given information about different energy sources’ emissions profiles and projected costs on a cents per kilowatt basis.

The report concluded that, “It is undoubtedly the case that low-emission technologies, particularly renewable energies, are strongly supported by the public.

“However, there is also a strong preference for renewables to be introduced without increasing prices, even when data is provided that indicates those two goals may be inconsistent,’’ the report says.